Scripps College

The mission of the Office for Accommodations and Academic Resource Services envisions a campus where students achieve academic and personal success through equitable access to programs and services. As a premier model of academic support, we integrate best practices rooted in compassionate care with practical resources and guidance that empowers students to exercise autonomy, navigate challenges, and thrive in their educational journey.

Who determines accommodations for a student with a disability?

Accommodations are based upon the documentation that the student presents and the intake undergone between the student and an Accommodations and Academic Resource Services staff member. Accommodations are established in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and are intended to provide equity for students with disabilities in the academic setting.

Some accommodations that students receive include use of technology during class for note taking, extended time on exams, and receiving class materials in PDF format. For a list of some common accommodations, click on the Faculty Resources tab and go to “Common Accommodations”.

AARS is responsible for establishing accommodations for eligible students. In most instances, faculty members will facilitate academic accommodations directly with students. Some accommodations that AARS provides, however, include retrieving books in PDF format, providing text to speech and speech to text technology, and more. The Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), a 7c Claremont College resource, provides test proctoring services for students with disabilities.

The AARS office is legally bound by the ADA to preserve student’s confidentiality regarding the nature of their disability, and to only release information relating to the nature of accommodations a student receives. Thus, the AARS office will not identify the nature of the student’s disability and only shares the accommodations that have been determined as necessary for the student’s academic support. Students may choose to discuss their particular situation with an instructor but are not required to so, and instructors should not ask questions about the nature of a student’s disability.

Each semester, students are obligated to send notification letters by email to their professors so that professors are informed of the student’s approved accommodations. Due to confidentiality requirements, AARS cannot provide notice to instructors until the student authorizes release of these notification letters. Students are encouraged to request these letters early each semester, and most students do so once their schedule is finalized.

Some students, however, may fail to send out their notification emails early in the semester, and others may not even become registered with the AARS office until well into the semester. This is not a problem, as students are able to send faculty notification letters at any point throughout the semester. If a student sends their letters late in the semester, any grades that have been earned without the use of accommodations remain as given. Accommodations cannot be given retroactively.